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Benjamin Sisko
"So you're the commander of Deep Space 9. And the Emissary of the Prophets. Decorated combat officer, widower, father, mentor and... oh, yes, the man who started the war with the Dominion. Somehow I thought you'd be taller..." - Senator Vreenak, 2374 Benjamin Lafayette Sisko was a famous Starfleet officer best remembered for his seven-year assignment commanding station Deep Space 9 in the Bajor sector. After discovering the Bajoran wormhole, he became known to the Bajoran people as the Emissary of the Prophets. He fought the Borg at the Battle of Wolf 359 and was a key player in the Dominion War. Childhood Sisko was born in 2332 in New Orleans, Earth. His mother had been possessed by a Prophet – a non-linear alien species which lived in the then-undiscovered Bajoran wormhole. The Prophet had used Sarah Sisko to ensure the birth of Benjamin, who would later become the Emissary of the Prophets. A year later, the Prophet returned control of Sarah's body, and she left her son and husband. Joseph Sisko soon remarried, and his new wife posed as Benjamin's biological mother all the rest of her life. She gave birth to his sister, Judith, and at least two brothers. During his childhood years, Sisko and his siblings were taught to cook by their father, who believed that eating replicated food was wrong. Joseph owned his own restaurant, Sisko's, where he made his children work in the summers. Joseph called his children his "taste-testers", and insisted that they all eat dinner together. Starfleet Academy Sisko joined Starfleet Academy in 2350. During the first few weeks, he beamed back to New Orleans every night for a family dinner. Sisko studied to be an engineer. During his sophomore year, he performed his field study at Starbase 137. He later considered it to be one of the best experiences of his life. During his years at the Academy, Ben became friends with Calvin Hudson and Laporin. He also met his future mentor, Curzon Dax, at Pelios Station. Sisko also became the captain of his Academy wrestling team. He once challenged a Vulcan, Solok, to a match after a few drinks. He lost, was humiliated, and resented Solok for decades. After graduation in 2354, while waiting for his first assignment, Benjamin met a woman named Jennifer at Gilgo Beach. Still in 2354, the two fell in love, were married and moved to Benjamin's new posting at New Berlin. Together with Cal and Gretchen Hudson they attended the local Mazurka Festival where Benjamin was remembered for dancing in German lederhosen. Their son, Jake, was born a year later in 2355. Early Career Early Postings Sisko was reunited with Curzon Dax when the two served together for a few months aboard the USS Livingston. Dax became Sisko's mentor, and the two were friends for over a decade. Benjamin later served on the USS Okinawa during the Tzenkethi War. At the time, he was more interested in engineering and ship design than command. However, Captain Leyton noticed potential in young Sisko, and promoted him to lieutenant commander, making him the ship's executive officer. Wolf 359 Sisko transferred to the USS Saratoga, and also served as the first officer. Both Jennifer and Jake lived with him aboard the vessel. In late 2366, the ship was operating close to Earth, and was called to join a fleet at Wolf 359 to defend the Sol system from a Borg attack. The Battle of Wolf 359 was a massacre. Thirty-nine of the forty starships assembled there were destroyed. The Borg damaged the Saratoga, forcing the crew to abandon ship. Sisko found his son and wife, but his wife had been killed in the attack. He was forced to leave her as the ship suffered a warp core breach. As late as 2369 Sisko blamed Jennifer's death on Jean-Luc Picard, who had been assimilated by the Borg as Locutus of Borg and had carried out the massacre at Wolf 359. Recovery Sisko was faced with the loss of his wife and raising his son alone. He found an outlet for his pain in his new posting at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards on Mars. There, Sisko worked on the prototype USS Defiant – the first in what was to be a fleet of warships to defend the Federation from the Borg. After work on the project slowed, and design flaws became apparent, the project was mothballed. This left Sisko on the verge of resigning his commission. He intended to work on Earth, constructing orbital habitats, but struggled with the decision to leave. As he was contemplating his next move, his former captain, Leyton, nominated Sisko for a command position. It seemed that fate had intervened, as Starfleet promoted him to commander and assigned him to Bajor, home to the Prophets who had caused his birth. There Sisko was to command an old ore processing station, built by the Cardassians during their occupation of Bajor, then abandoned as part of their recent withdrawal from the system. Under Federation control, the station was newly christened Deep Space 9. It was to be Sisko's responsibility to help prepare the Bajorans for entry into the Federation. Arriving on DS9 in early 2369, Sisko was briefed by Jean-Luc Picard, whom he still blamed for his wife's death. At this point, Sisko told Picard he intended to resign. However, he continued his work, and assumed command of the station. Sisko's crew slowly arrived, and it was then that he met his future friends, Bajoran liaison Kira Nerys, security chief Odo, Doctor Julian Bashir, and Chief of Operations Miles O'Brien. He was also reunited with his old friend Dax, living in a new host, Jadzia. The situation on Bajor was hostile, as factions vied for control in the new Bajoran Provisional Government. Sisko learned that the only way to unite them all was to call on the Bajoran spiritual leader, Kai Opaka. Sisko met with her in a secluded area of Bajor, and she told him that he was to be the Emissary of the Prophets and was destined to discover the Celestial Temple, home of the Prophets. Sisko returned to the station and with the help of Dax, began studying everything known about the Celestial Temple. Eventually they discovered an unusual area in the Denorios belt. Traveling there, they were surprised to discover a stable wormhole. Dax was sent home by the Prophets, but they met Sisko, who explained linear existence to them. While talking with the Prophets, Sisko was forced to come to terms with his wife's death, and he returned to Deep Space 9. Sisko forgave Picard for his actions as a Borg, and informed him that he would stay in Starfleet. Sisko now had the strange task of commanding a station of Bajoran officers, many of whom revered him as a religious figure – their prophesied Emissary. Deep Space 9 Life on the Frontier Sisko had to put all his training and skills to use, as he was forced to balance command, diplomacy, his home life, and his new position as a Bajoran religious icon. Sisko made first contact with the first species to come through the wormhole from the Gamma Quadrant, the Tosk, in 2369. He acted as defense in the extradition trial of Dax to the Klaestron government, and proved her innocent. =He fought in the war between the Ennis and the Nol-Ennis on the planet where Kai Opaka was stranded. Constantly dealing with Jake's friendship with a Ferengi boy, Nog, proved to be a challenge. But his most difficult tasks were preparing Bajor for life in the Federation, and dealing with his title as the Emissary. During late 2369, tensions on the station rose between Bajoran and Starfleet personnel. Scientific teachings about the nature of the Bajoran wormhole conflicted with the religious beliefs of much of the Bajoran population. Sisko struggled to keep the peace, and in the process had his first meeting with Vedek Winn Adami. The Maquis Sisko was also forced to deal with internal pressures within the Federation as well. When the Federation-Cardassian Treaty of 2370 caused several colonies in Federation space to come under Cardassian rule, many colonists felt the Federation had abandoned them. They formed the Maquis, a terrorist group operating out of the Badlands. Sisko's old friend, Calvin Hudson was assigned as the Starfleet attaché to the colonists in the Demilitarized Zone but became a Maquis leader. Several other Starfleet officers resigned to take up the Maquis cause. Sisko felt angered by the actions of these officers, and felt the pain of personal betrayal by Cal Hudson. The Maquis continued their private war for the next three years, and gained more support among Federation citizens. Deep Space 9's chief of Starfleet security, Lieutenant Commander Michael Eddington, and a woman with whom Sisko had become involved, Kasidy Yates, began to aid the Maquis in their activities. When Sisko discovered this, he felt betrayed by both people. He was forced to arrest Yates, but Eddington escaped. Sisko felt that Eddington had betrayed his oath to Starfleet the same way Cal Hudson had and vowed to capture him. Contact with the Dominion In late 2370, Sisko made first contact with the Dominion in an encounter with the Jem'Hadar. This launched Sisko on a path that would define his career. The Dominion declared the Gamma Quadrant off-limits to Alpha Quadrant species, and destroyed several Starfleet ships, along with the colony on New Bajor. Sisko returned to DS9 with the realization that he had discovered a powerful and dangerous new enemy. Sisko returned to Earth to brief Starfleet on the Dominion situation. Realizing that Deep Space 9 was to be the first line of defense from a Dominion attack, Sisko convinced Starfleet Command to finish work on the mothballed USS Defiant. Sisko returned to DS9 with the new warship, and entered the Gamma Quadrant on a mission to find the Founders. During the mission, the Defiant and crew were captured by the Jem'Hadar and placed in a simulation, testing their reaction to a Dominion incursion in the Alpha Quadrant. It was discovered that the Founders were in fact Changelings, the same species as Sisko's security chief, Odo. Odo forced the Founders to release the Defiant crew, and they returned to the station. Based on his experiences with the Dominion, Sisko's psychological evaluation became required knowledge for Vorta operatives in the Dominion. Following three years of commanding Deep Space 9, Sisko was given a promotion, finally attaining the rank of captain in late 2371. Soon afterward, Sisko discovered that the Founders had begun infiltrating the Federation, posing as high-ranking officers. One Founder, disguised as an ambassador, ordered Sisko on a mission to the Tzenkethi border, and then tried to provoke a new Tzenkethi war. Sisko and crew were successful in stopping the Founder's attempt, but it became apparent that there were now Changeling infiltrators in the Alpha Quadrant. Rising Pressures Fears of Dominion infiltration swept the quadrant, and when the Cardassian government was overthrown by the civilian Detapa Council in 2372, the Klingon Empire feared Changeling intervention. A large Klingon task force docked at Deep Space 9, bound for Cardassian space. Klingon Chancellor Gowron asked Sisko for Starfleet's help in invading Cardassia Prime. Sisko rejected their call for help, and the Klingons withdrew from the Khitomer Accords, ending decades of peace. Ben now had to ally himself against the Klingons and help the new Cardassian government survive the Klingon attack. He contacted his long-time adversary, Gul Dukat, and arranged to rescue him and the new Council. He made sure, however, to test the ministers for possible Changeling impostors. Faced with a war on two sides, the Klingons backed down. However, the balance of power in the Alpha Quadrant was changing, and this played right into the Dominion's hands. The Dominion War As Dominion fleets began coming through the wormhole on a weekly basis, Starfleet made the decision to mine the entrance to the wormhole. Sisko commanded the station during the resulting Battle of Deep Space 9, the opening strike of the Dominion War. During the final moments of the battle, Sisko gave a speech to the station residents, telling them of his fondness for commanding the station, promising to return. The Dominion took control of the station, but Sisko implemented a computer program which completely destroyed DS9's main computer core. Sisko retreated aboard the Defiant, leaving his prized antique baseball behind; the station's new commander, Gul Dukat, knew this was a sign from Sisko that he would eventually return. Sisko commanded the Defiant for the next three months, engaging in numerous battles with Jem'Hadar and Cardassian forces. Ordered to fall back to Starbase 375, Sisko was placed in command of a mission behind enemy lines to destroy a ketracel-white storage facility. Sisko and crew traveled aboard the stolen Jem'Hadar attack ship he had acquired a year before, and completed the mission. However, their ship was destroyed and they were stranded on a planet in Dominion space along with Jem'Hadar forces. Knowing he was beaten, the commanding Vorta, Keevan, gave Sisko his force's attack plans. Sisko was forced to massacre the Jem'Hadar troops, despite his personal objections. Sisko's crew was soon rescued by General Martok and Worf aboard the IKS Rotarran. Having completed his mission, Sisko was promoted to adjutant for Vice Admiral William Ross at Starbase 375. He was forced to give command of the Defiant to Lieutenant Commander Dax. Using his new influence in Starfleet, Sisko created a plan to retake Deep Space 9, Operation Return, and convinced Starfleet to commit its forces. After learning that the minefield around the wormhole was about to be neutralized, Sisko ordered the operation to commence immediately. He commanded the Starfleet forces during the battle from the Defiant, and made his way to DS9. Faced with an armada of Dominion ships as the minefield fell, Sisko ordered the Defiant to go down with guns blazing. In a vision from the Prophets, Sisko convinced them to destroy the invading fleet, and he returned to retake the station. Soon afterward, Sisko hired Elim Garak to fabricate a recording designed to bring the Romulan Star Empire into the war. This plan was approved by Starfleet. Sisko struggled with the ethical implications of his actions, but in the end decided it was worth it. With the help of a few of Garak's sources, he was able to fabricate a holo-recording of the Dominion and Cardassians planning on invading Romulan space once the war was over. He secretly invited Senator Vreenak over to DS9 to "show" him the evidence. However, Vreenak later found it was a fake and was prepared to expose this "vile deception" to the entire quadrant. But a few days later, it was reported that the Senator's shuttle was destroyed. Sisko confronted Garak on what he had done, but the former Obsidian Order agent pointed out that it was the only way to make the Empire think that the Dominion was responsible, with the acceptable losses of one convict, a senator and the self-respect of one Starfleet captain. As a result, the Romulans entered the war, attacking several Cardassian outposts along the Neutral Zone, and turned the odds in the Federation's favor. Sisko later recorded what happened into his personal log before deleting it. Sisko was chosen to command the first offensive into Dominion space in late-2374. The First Battle of Chin'toka was a success, but while Sisko was away, Gul Dukat managed to close the Bajoran wormhole, cutting off Bajor from the Prophets. He also killed Jadzia Dax. Sisko felt responsible, and decided to take a leave of absence to find a way to restore the wormhole. Ben and Jake returned to New Orleans, not knowing if they would ever return to DS9. Later that year, Sisko commanded the Defiant in the Second Battle of Chin'toka. The ship was destroyed by the Dominion's new allies, the Breen Confederacy. Sisko was then given command of the USS São Paulo, in late 2375, which was renamed to USS Defiant. He then helped command the final assault into Dominion territory. The Battle of Cardassia was a success, with the help of the Cardassian Rebellion. Afterward, Sisko, Admiral Ross, and Chancellor Martok gathered in the ruins of Cardassia to celebrate. Faced with the destruction the Dominion had wrought in retaliation for the Cardassian uprising, Sisko did not feel like celebrating. He returned to the station to bid farewell to his crew before their reassignment. Category:Starfleet Characters Category:Human Characters Category:Non Playable Characters